


The Heart of Voltron

by Magestorrow



Category: Bartimaeus - Jonathan Stroud, Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Crossover, Hunk-centric, Multi, Original Character - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-22
Updated: 2017-10-24
Packaged: 2019-01-21 13:20:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,571
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12458622
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Magestorrow/pseuds/Magestorrow
Summary: Hunk is used to lonely, sleepless nights. What he's not used to is stumbling hidden sections of the castle during his late night strolls, nor the sudden appearance of a mysterious Galra who is quite insistent on staying by his side.[Knowledge of the Bartimaeus Trilogy isn't needed to read this fic.]





	1. Sleepless Nights

### Chapter 1: Sleepless Nights

#### Hunk

He stared up at the ceiling of his room. He had memorized all of its minuscule details after a week in the castle, and he absentmindedly traced the designs with his finger. Falling asleep was never easy. He would tell himself each night that sleep would quickly overcome him, but it never did. Dark, worrisome thoughts would relentlessly bombard him. They were never exactly the same, but they almost always revolved around the people that he cared about.

And tonight, it was his family.

Family had always been important to him, but he had never easily dealt with being away from them. There was always nights where his longing for them manifested itself into a lack of sleep, but it had never been as bad as it was now. Back at the Garrison, he had known when he would see their smiling faces again. Now, he could only dream of the days where he would feel his parents' arms pull him into a warm embrace. 

He sighed at the thought of seeing them again. If only they knew where he was now! They would be even more proud of him than they already were. He was protecting the universe in the most amazing robot that he had ever seen, surrounded by friends who loved and cared about him!

...Although he wasn't particularly close to any of them.

Pidge would talk with him about the technology they found on planets, but they hadn't had a long conversation about it since she found her brother. How could he blame her? He loved his older sister, though they weren't as close and Pidge and her brother were. He couldn't come between their time.

He had started becoming close to Lance back during their time at the Garrison. Now that they were surrounded by so many people at the castle, Lance had begun to clung to other people. While he seemed particularly fond of Allura at the moment, he had also spent the majority of his time with Keith before he had left.

That left Allura, Coran and Shiro, and he could never figure out how to interact with them.

He sighed and resigned himself to another sleepless night.

~v~

After coming to the realization that staring at the ceiling for the rest of the night would be far from enjoyable, he decided to leave his room. One quick stop at the kitchen later and he found himself wandering through the halls of the castle. He could always go fiddle with some of the tech they had gotten at the last planet, but he wanted to work on it when Pidge was.

The castle always felt empty. It had never been meant for just six people, and he always thought that the sight of people bustling through its halls would be a beautiful thing to see. But now it felt even emptier than it usually did. Only his footsteps filled the dark hallways, and the shadows loomed over him.

He was too distracted by his own thoughts to notice the unfamiliar door. It was only when it opened to allow him in that he realized he was in a completely new section of the castle. How had he not ended up here before tonight? After a moment of hesitation, he entered the room. What would he find inside?

The lights flickered on.

He shielded his eyes with his free hand – the other was holding his late night snack – only to lower it when his eyes adjusted to the sudden brightness. The room was surprisingly small. It was only slightly larger than his own bedroom. The only things that adorned it were two circles etched into the ground. Both were made of complex, intricate designs.

He stepped towards the one near the door to investigate.

As he did, a holographic display suddenly appeared before him.

He nearly dropped his bowl of space goo in surprise.

Once he recovered from his scare, he began to read through the words on the screen. It was in Altean, but he had always had a knack for learning languages and had been learning in it. Out of habit, he read the words out loud. Some of them were harder to say than others.

By the time he had finished, he still wasn't quite sure what he had just read. The majority of it was foreign to him. Only several words – bound, protect and summon – were recognizable. Still, he was elated by his discovery. What could the room's purpose be? Allura and Coran could surely provide answers, but neither would be awake for several more hours. He would have to check the databases in the bridge of the castle.

But as he turned to leave, he heard something move from behind him.

He looked over his shoulders.

And immediately dropped his empty bowl when he saw a very confused Galra standing in the center of the circle across from him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, and thanks for checking out my fanfiction! I hope you enjoyed reading it. Please leave a comment if you did, and let me know what you think will happen next!


	2. The Leg

### Chapter 2: The Leg

#### Hunk

For the first minute, they both stared at each other.

As far as Galra went, this one was absolutely terrifying. She was taller than him and possibly anyone else in the castle, and her lean frame was covered by armor that heavily suggested that held an important position. She didn't appear to have any weapons on her. He could easily defeat her if he had his bayard with him.

But he didn't, and that was the problem.

He was standing here in his pajamas – of all things – and his lion slippers. There was probably space goo on his face because he hadn't thought he would run into someone. The only thing that came remotely close to a weapon was the spoon that had fallen to the floor.

And, sure, he could always make a dash for the door so he could wake up the others and get his bayard. But that would mean leaving the Galra free to do whatever she wanted, and that wasn't an option. He'd have to come up with some way of keeping her occupied. But what could he possibly do to prevent her from wrecking havoc on the castle? 

“You're the leg!” she suddenly exclaimed.

He stared at her.

She stared at him.

“I am,” he enthusiastically said. At least it looked like she wanted to talk and not attack him? He could work with that! Maybe this wouldn't be as hard as he thought it would! “I'm the yellow paladin of Voltron!”

“Hunk, right?”

He eagerly nodded.

A relieved sigh left her lips. She plopped down into the center of the circle, crossing her legs and looking up at him with a relaxed smile on her face. It was as if a heavy weight had suddenly been taken off of her shoulders. He couldn't guess what made her so peaceful, but he hoped that it didn't have to do with her trying to hurt or capture him. “If I'd want any paladin to summon me, it'd be you. I've always heard that the yellow paladin is the kindest.”

What was she talking about?

The look on her face shifted to horror when he didn't say anything. “You're not going to dismiss me, right? Because then that witch Haggar could summon me again, and I'm so close to pushing her out of her stupid magic chamber into the depths of outer space right now.” Then she gave a surprisingly bitter laugh. “I mean, it's not like I actually could do that. The confines of my summoning, and all. But you can wish, right?”

He knew she was waiting for some sort of response on his part, but he was half-asleep and incredibly confused. Her words were going in one ear and going out the other; no matter how hard he tried to grasp them, he couldn't. 

She took a depth breath. “I'm sorry for being so chatty. I've just been stuck with Haggar for who knows how long, and, if you've ever met her, you'd understand exactly why I'm so happy to finally be away from her. By the way, what's my charge? I hope it's a long one.”

He suddenly heard a yawn from behind him. Surprised by the arrival of another person and relieved that he was no longer facing the Galra alone, he spun around to see Lance stifling a second yawn. He seemed completely oblivious to the Galra in the other circle. He was more focused on yawning for a third time than anything else. 

“Hey, Hunk,” he groggily said. He gave the yellow paladin a tired wave. It seemed like Lance had just gotten out of bed. “What are you doing-ohmyGodthere'saGalrarightthere.”

Hunk finally exited the circle and went over to the talk to the other paladin. He missed the way her eyes briefly lit up when he left, and the way that she eagerly leaned towards him. But before he had even opened his mouth, she had already settled back into her earlier position. 

“She just showed up in here,” Hunk whispered as quietly as he possibly could, which was admittedly on the louder side. “She hasn't attacked me yet.”

“Did you miss her walking in or something?”

Hunk frantically shook his head. He couldn't explain what exactly had happened, but it was far different than what Lance was thinking. “I didn't! All I did was turn my back and then she showed up behind me. She's been in that circle since then.” He turned to look over at the circle as Lance said something else, but there was a disturbing lack of a Galra in it.

“She looks important,” he wisely commented.

The Galra woman nodded from beside Lance. “I'm like Haggar's right hand woman. I _am_ pretty important. So you're right, blue paladin!”

Lance and Hunk both gave startled cries when they realized where she had disappeared to.

She crossed her arms.. “Oh, come on!” she exclaimed with a huff. She pointed a sharp fingernail in Hunk's direction. “Hunk left his pentacle. Leaving mine is fair game!”

They stared at her.

“Do you guys always stare at people you don't know? Because I feel like these past few minutes have consisted of me carrying the majority of the conversation.” She held her hand out to Lance. “I'm Darunia, by the way. I'd never be one of Zarkon's generals because I'm not technically a Galra, but I'd like to think my skills make me pretty darn close. You're Lance, right? You're the blue paladin but now you pilot the red lion.”

Lance looked over at Hunk. “Is this the part where we get our bayards?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading this chapter! If you haven't read the Bartimaeus Trilogy, I'm guessing you're probably confused right now. Don't worry - I'll explain things in the next chapter. Please leave a comment if you liked what you read! I'd love to see what you think of it.


	3. Runia

### Chapter 1: Runia

#### Hunk

After a plethora of desperate begs and pleads, Darunia managed to convince the two of them to not get their bayards. The last of these promises was what had led to Hunk suggesting something that she was surprisingly accepting of. Now Hunk and her found themselves in the lounge room. Hunk made sure to stay close to her. Though she had let them tie her hands together, Hunk knew that she had an ulterior motive. She had essentially become their prisoner, yet she hadn't objected to his suggestion.

“I'm not a bad person,” Darunia promised, looking over at him.

Hunk stayed silent.

She leaned back into the couch. “You like cooking, right?” 

“How did you know that?” he asked incredulously. He hadn't mentioned it, and neither had Lance. Even if she knew about their lives because she was a Galra officer, it didn't explain why she would know something that would never benefit Zarkon. 

She grinned. “You'd be surprised how much I know about the people here.” Then her face contorted into a look of horror. “That sounds really creepy, doesn't it? I've just gone to see you guys at your Coalition stuff. I've heard you get excited about the cuisine, so I was guessing you were a chef. Seeing you guys is also how I know that Lance is the blue paladin but now pilots the red lion.”

He tried to recall the most recent Coalition events that had happened, but he didn't remember seeing anyone who could have possibly been a Galra. Coming undisguised would be suicidal. Still, it wasn't like there had been some mysterious figure standing in the back of the crowd. So how could she have been there?

Lance returned with the others before he had a chance to ask her more questions. They all seem exhausted – it was the middle of the night, after all – but had an alertness to their eyes. It seemed like Lance had thoroughly explained the situation to them. Shiro opened his mouth to most likely interrogate their prisoner, but Darunia had shot to her feet and was currently in front of Allura. Hunk frantically rushed to his feet as well. If she was about to harm her, he had to do something-

“You've grown so much, princess!” she enthusiastically said.

“Do I know-” 

Darunia continued talking, seemingly oblivious to Allura's question. Her lips had turned upwards into a smile, and she was excitedly gesturing with her hands. Hunk was just as confused by the reaction as Allura was. “Your hair is so long compared to how it was when you were younger, but I think it really suits you! It looks very regal. I've heard you're the pilot for the blue lion now, too~ I'm really happy for you. I know things may seem tough but I think you've been doing a wonderful job at leading the fight against the Galra.”

Her attention turned to the other Altean in the room. Though her hands were still tied together, she somehow managed to give him a cheerful wave. “Hey, Coranic! I haven't seen you in ages. Then again, you were in a cryopod for about ten thousand years, but that's beside the point.”

Both Allura and Coran stared blankly at her.

Shiro looked over at them. “...You know her?”

Allura shook her head. “No, I do not.” 

“Oh, shoot,” she said. “I was expecting that you would remember me. That would make everything easier to explain. Maybe you remember me by my nickname? Darunia isn't really a mouthful, but it seems like Runia is a lot more catchy.”

Hunk expectantly watched the Alteans. Both of their eyes widened, and they briefly looked at each other before their attention returned to the Galra soldier before them. She seemed to be blissfully unaware of their confusion. If she did notice it, she certainly didn't act like she had. 

“That's impossible,” Coran protested. “Runia would have died thousands of years ago, and she would have never worked for the Galra!”

“And Runia was Altean, like Coran and I,” Allura added.

Pidge, who had spent the last few minutes trying to fully wake up, finally was alert enough to ask the question that Hunk had been wondering as well. “Whose Runia?”

Coran gave a wistful sigh. “She used to research the quintessence alongside Honerva back before the Galra Empire began to conquer other planets. She was always a bit strange, but she used to spend time with Princess Allura whenever she had a chance. She disappeared after Honerva's death, and was never seen again. She would have died long ago.”

“I'm right here, you know,” Darunia grumbled. “And I am _not_ strange.”

When Hunk looked back at her, the ropes were on the ground.

And in the place of the Galra was an Altean woman.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading this chapter! Though I was planning on including an explanation for what's been going on in this chapter, I realized midway through that next chapter was better suited for that. Please let me know what you thought of this chapter!


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